Trust disputes and the High Court
Trust disputes often arise due to differing views and personalities amongst trustees and/or trustee misconduct. In many cases, by the time a trustee comes to see us, the trust is not operating effectively or legally. Common examples are where the Trust is being run by the chairperson in an almost ...Amendments to the Resource Management Act - Māori participation
In this article, we outline the changes to the Resource Management Act 1991 (RMA) in relation to iwi participation in policy statements (statements) and plan changes which took effect on 19 April 2017.Current iwi participationInformal arrangements between councils and iwi groups are common: exampl...
Tax changes for charities and volunteers
Current tax rules for when an entity ceases charitable purposes only apply to registered charities under s HR 12 of the Income Tax Act 2007 (“the Act”). This excludes non-registered charities that cease being charitable at law.
Seven things you should know about the latest RMA reforms
The Resource Legislation Amendment Act 2017 (RLAA) has made important changes to the Resource Management Act 1991 (RMA) and four other Acts across a range of areas. Many of these changes are contentious and there has been a clash of views over whether the RMA is fine as it stands, needs wholesale re...Testamentary guardians: Should your child have one?
The Care of Children Act 2004 makes provision for a parent to appoint “Testamentary Guardians” for their children through their will. A Testamentary Guardian will become that child’s guardian automatically when the parent dies and will not be required to make an application to the Family Court. A ...Beneficiary access to information - The new Trusts Bill
As it stands a beneficiary of a Trust does not have a right (as such) to information held by the Trust. Although beneficiaries are entitled to request information from trustees, whether or not that information is provided is a discretionary matter for trustees to decide in exercising their fiduciar...Resource legislation amendments - Changes to the land acquisition process
In this article, we provide an overview of the amendments to the land acquisition process under the Public Works Act 1981 (“the Act”) which has been amended as part of the Resource Legislation Amendment Act 2017.What is the Public Works Act?The Act gives power to the Crown to acquire land for publ...
Protecting Māori interests in the Takutai Moana
The Marine and Coastal Area (Takutai Moana) Act 2011 acknowledges the importance of the marine and coastal area to all New Zealanders and provides for the recognition of the customary rights of iwi, hapū and whānau in the common marine and coastal area. Public access to the common marine and coasta...2017 Unit Titles Reforms
IntroductionThe Regulatory Systems (Building and Housing) Amendment Act 2017 and the Unit Titles Amendment Regulations 2017 each came into force on 30 May 2017. Many of the changes are cosmetic or technical, and much of the legislation remains untouched, but there are some substantial changes that ...Trust busting (Part 2): Constructive trusts
There have been a number of Court decisions in recent years in which it has been found in one way or another that assets of a trust can be accessed for the purposes of a relationship property division.One of the notable recent cases is Clayton v Clayton, which was the subject of my November 2016 ...
New standards for the testing of meth-contaminated properties
In this article, we provide an update on the development of new standards for the testing and treatment of properties contaminated by methamphetamine (“meth”).With the number of houses contaminated by meth reported to be on the rise both in Waikato and throughout New Zealand, the public awareness ...
Changes to the construction retentions regime
You may be aware of the new statutory regime for construction contract retentions which comes into force at the end of this month. Essentially the new law imposes a trust regime around retention funds. We highlight some key information on the law change below.The Construction Contracts Amendment...